Optician&#39;s tool for holding plastic temples while shaping same



July 25, 1950 E. B. FITLER OPTICI-ANS TOOL FOR HOLDING PLASTIC TEMPLES WHILE PING SAME ed Dec. 1948 Fil INVENTOR. EUGENE B. FlTLER BY My Patented July 25, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OPTICIANS TOOL FOR HOLDING PLASTIC TEMPLES WHILE SHAPING SAIVIE This invention relates to opticians tools, and aims to provide a, simple, inexpensive tool for the bending of the ear pieces (temples) of plastic frames for spectacles.

In the fitting of glasses to a patients head, the ear pieces (known in the trade as temples), after being attached to the frame proper, must generally be bent to fit the head, in two separate planes-downward around the ear, and inward or outward to fit the curve of the skull. This is relatively simple with metal frames, since the wire ear pieces are rather easily deformable. Butplastic frames are another matter; they must be heated to render them thermoplastic before they can be deformed. Since they are hot at the time of forming, and uncomfortable to handle, they must be held either with some sort of tool, or with the hands at the cool end, and formed with a second tool. The pliers generally used tend to mar the temples wherever pressure is applied, and hence are not well suited to the job.

I have invented a simple inexpensive device for holding the temple while it is being shaped, without marring; the tool consists essentially of a U-shaped channel with the tops curved away from the channel, and an adjustable element slidable in the channel along the legs of the U. It is shown in the accompanying drawing in approximately natural size; in the drawings Fig. 1 is a top view of the device.

Fig. 2 is a front view.

Fig. 3 is a view of the device cut through at the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

The tool consists of two rather wide side pieces II and I2, joined at their ends, as by welding, to an end piece I3 so as to form a tall U. Each of the pieces is curved at its upper end, to form curved portions I4, I5 and I6.

Pairs of horizontal slots I! are cut in the side pieces II and I2, and a rectangular spacer piece I8, with holes I9 cut through at the height of the slots I1, is mounted in the U by means of screws 20 and thumb nuts 2I, providing an adjustable clamping space 22.

In the operation of the device, the temple to be bent is inserted into the U, and the spacer piece I8 is adjusted so that the space 22 is approximately the width of the temple, so that it is held frictionally, but without pressure. The temple is then measured on the patients head, heated, and placed back into the clamp. It is then bent as desired about the curve I6 (to fit the downward bend of the ear), and about either the curve I4 and I5 to fit the skull. Since there is no pressure on the temple, the heated plastic is not marred, and is deformed only where desired.

Obviously, changes can be made in my clamp without departing from the scope of my invention, which is defined in the claim.

I claim:

A device for holding a thermoplastic spectacle temple during the bending of an end thereof which comprises an upright-U-shaped frame, the side pieces and end piece being curved outward at their respective tops, and a clamping piece adjustably mounted between the side pieces for sliding movement toward and away from the end piece.

EUGENE B. FITLER.

No references cited. 

